Douglas Harold Copp was born in Toronto, Ontario, on January 16, 1915, to Charles and Edith (née O'Hara) Copp. After beginning post-secondary studies in physics and chemistry at the University of Toronto, his family was struck by tragedy when a burglar killed his older brother in the family home. Copp decided to pursue the same subject his brother studied before his death and transferred his interests to medicine. He completed an MD (University of Toronto) and a doctorate in biochemistry (University of California at Berkeley). After graduating in 1943, Copp was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, where he and his team focused on the impact of radiation on bone marrow in humans. He remained at Berkeley as an instructor after World War II, maintaining his interest in bone metabolism. Copp returned to Canada in 1950, joining the University of British Columbia faculty as the first Head of the Department of Physiology. In 1961, he discovered a previously unrecognized hormone that aided in calcium regulation, called Calcitonin. It is this discovery that Copp is best known for, and Calcitonin quickly becomes essential in the treatment of osteoporosis, Paget's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and hypercalcemia. Although officially retiring in 1980, he maintained his laboratory at UBC until 1993.
Copp received many honours and awards for his achievements throughout the years. Examples include the Jacob Biely Research Prize, the Gairdner Award, the Flavelle Medal, and honorary doctorates from Acadia University, the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, Queen's University and UBC. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He was inducted as a charter member into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1994 and was also posthumously inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2000. Also, Copp held many professional offices, including President of the Canadian Physiological Society, President of the Faculty Association of UBC, President of the National Cancer Institute of Canada, and President of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada. Harold Copp married Winnifred Thompson on July 15, 1939, and over the years, the couple had three daughters, Mary, Carolyn and Pat. He died on March 17, 1998.